Author: staff

Published on 08/10/2026 – 11:45 GMT+2 At least 12 people were killed and 19 were injured after a Russian strike hit public buses in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, authorities said on Thursday. The strike occurred in the city of Kramatorsk, where public transport has since been suspended, according to the Kramatorsk City Council. “Once again, the Russians have struck a location where there is definitely no military target. A public bus. Civilian transport. People who were simply going about their business,” the council wrote in a post on Telegram. The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office said the attack took place at…

Shrinking water holes, dry wells and parched fields show the impact of a prolonged drought in central Sri Lanka. In Medirigiriya, villagers walk with plastic cans and clay pots to collect supplies, while tankers deliver water to communities where wells have run dry. Farmers say the lack of rain has damaged crops and made it harder to earn a living. The dry conditions are also taking a toll on wildlife in Yala National Park. Deer, monkeys and buffaloes gather around what remains of the watering holes, while authorities use tankers to keep them supplied. Little rain during the current monsoon…

Published on 08/10/2026 – 11:11 GMT+2 Two of Asia’s biggest chipmakers have delivered blockbuster results, with Samsung on course for its most profitable quarter ever and TSMC booking a record three months of revenue, driven by spending on artificial intelligence. The South Korean group estimated its operating profit for the third quarter at 107.4 trillion won, or $80.2 billion (€71.5bn), up from 89.49 trillion won (€59.6bn) in the previous quarter and 12.17 trillion won (€8.1bn) a year earlier. This would represent an increase of 782.5% year-on-year. The figure, if confirmed, would be the biggest quarterly operating profit ever reported by…

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the diplomats and their families were being “temporarily withdrawn” to secure their safety. “We will work in the coming months to build back up our presence, and we will not take reciprocal action while such discussions are underway and credible,” he continued. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar set out a list of diplomatic actions taken against Britain, adding: “We established a clear principle: It is not possible to act against Israel without Israel taking appropriate measures in response.” This developing story is being updated.

Published on 08/10/2026 – 10:37 GMT+2 Investment in counter-drone technology across the EU surged sixfold between 2024 and 2025, but only a third of the programmes are expected to deliver by 2030, according to a confidential EU report obtained by Euronews. The 2026 annual defence readiness report, a European Defence Agency (EDA) assessment of national military capabilities, exposes persistent gaps in Europe’s defences against drones and urges member states to step up investment in drone and counter-drone technology. “Investment in counter-drone and very short-range air defence capabilities grew sixfold between 2024 and 2025 in response to the growing threat posed…

US scientist Karl Deisseroth had a memorable way of sharing the news that he had won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Images released by Stanford University show Deisseroth telling his two daughters and son about the award. Deisseroth shares the prize with German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their research into light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor — around €1.09 million — will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

With conference season in the rear-view mirror, Andy Burnham jets off to Germany for his first European trip as PM – but how much do Anglo-German relations matter right now? Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy look ahead to his meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz as the countries attempt to align ambitions and maybe find an avenue to rejoin the EU. Elsewhere, an MP gets in touch to ask whether the government is trying to curb transparency and scrutiny.

The Left MEP Marc Botenga said his group’s proposal to halve MEPs’ salaries would bring them “down to earth” and make it easier for them to “realise what a normal European is going through”. Botenga believes many MEPs are only “stressed about their own privilege”. He argues that the way people live “influences the way you vote and the kind of proposals you make”. MEPs currently receive a monthly salary of €8,800, while The Left’s proposal would reduce it to €4,400. Faced with allegations of populism, Botenga argues that the European Parliament is used to discussing “anything”. However, when it…

Published on 08/10/2026 – 9:23 GMT+2•Updated 9:31 The British Consulate in East Jerusalem is “ceasing operations” on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said, as Israel hits back at UK sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a post on social media, Sa’ar said 20 diplomats were “ending their assignments” and would leave Israel, while a small “task force of no more than seven diplomats with a very limited scope of activity” would be authorised to continue working from the building. “We did not want it to come to this, but the Labour Government’s actions have…

European stock markets opened lower on Thursday as rising oil prices fuelled inflation concerns. Investors assessed minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s September meeting, released on Wednesday, and awaited those from the European Central Bank. Asian shares also fell after Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from record highs. At the open, Germany’s DAX fell 0.76%, and London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.75%. France’s CAC 40 was down 0.64%, while the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 1.06%. Oil prices rebounded amid uncertainty over global crude supplies. The US and Iran have yet to reach a deal to end their war. Crude…